Making Do with What You’ve Got
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 by Teresa CrawfordTwo recent articles caught my eye - using small, flash memory sticks to transmit viral videos in Cuba and the use of SMS in Zimbabwe for election and voter advocacy. In both cases citizens are making use with the technologies on hand and not relying on overly burdensome or complex systems they would have to create and maintain themselves. There is great potential in people making do with the types of technologies that already exist. What do these examples tell us about the potential for cyber activism in other countries with repressive regimes? How can we help community based advocates develop the most compelling campaigns, collect the information they need, understand their target audiences, craft their message and use tools such as these in their campaigns?
ZIMBABWE: Election campaigns go hi-tech
BULAWAYO, 5 March 2008 (IRIN) - Savvy text messaging and cheeky ring tones are the new face of cost-effective political campaigning in Zimbabwe in the run up to the 29 March election, despite the creakiness of country’s cell phone networks. (more…)